Sales Commission Agent Contract Mexico (Contrato de Comisionista)

A Sales Commission Agent Contract Mexico (Contrato de Comisionista) is a formal commercial agreement governed by the Código de Comercio de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, specifically Articles 273 through 308, through which a comitente (principal) appoints a comisionista (commission agent) to perform commercial acts — including selling goods, soliciting orders, or negotiating contracts — on the comitente's behalf in exchange for a commission calculated as a percentage of the value of completed transactions. The Código de Comercio, promulgated on 7 October 1889 and published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación, defines the comisión mercantil in Article 273 as the mandate applied to commerce acts, distinguishing it from the civil mandate regulated by the Código Civil Federal.

The legal relationship between comitente and comisionista is fundamentally a commercial mandate (mandato mercantil) rather than an employment relationship under the Ley Federal del Trabajo. Article 284 of the Código de Comercio establishes that the comisionista who carries out the commission in their own name acquires direct rights and obligations toward third parties, while Article 285 provides that when the comisionista acts in the name of the comitente, it is the comitente who acquires those rights and obligations — a distinction with significant legal consequences for liability and contract enforcement.

Article 304 of the Código de Comercio establishes the comisionista's right to receive a commission (derecho a comisión) once the operation entrusted has been concluded or when it cannot be completed due to circumstances attributable to the comitente. The commission rate may be agreed freely by the parties or, in the absence of agreement, determined by commercial custom (usos y costumbres mercantiles) under Article 304. Article 306 establishes the comisionista's right of retention (derecho de retención) over goods belonging to the comitente in their possession to secure payment of outstanding commissions and expenses.

The Contrato de Comisionista operates in parallel with the Ley de Agentes de Seguros y de Fianzas where the commission agent operates in the insurance sector, and with sector-specific regulations issued by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV) for financial product commission agents. For pharmaceutical product distribution, the Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) — now CONAMER for certain functions — imposes additional licensing and record-keeping requirements on commission agents.

Mexican commercial courts (Juzgados de Distrito en Materia Mercantil) have jurisdiction over disputes arising from the comisión mercantil, applying the Código de Comercio supplemented by the Código Civil Federal under Article 2° of the Código de Comercio where commercial law is silent. The Cámara de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo en Pequeño (CANACOPE) and the Confederación de Cámaras Nacionales de Comercio, Servicios y Turismo (CONCANACO) provide arbitration and conciliation services for commercial disputes through registered arbitration centres. Parties may also submit disputes to arbitration under the Ley de Arbitraje Comercial Internacional (based on the UNCITRAL Model Law) or domestic arbitration under the Código de Comercio Articles 1415 through 1463.

A properly drafted Contrato de Comisionista protects both parties by clearly delineating the scope of authority granted to the commission agent, the geographic territory within which the agent may operate, the commission calculation methodology and payment schedule, the product or service categories covered, record-keeping and reporting obligations, exclusivity provisions where applicable, and the circumstances under which either party may terminate the relationship. The contract must be distinguished from an employment agreement — misclassification of a genuine employee as a commission agent exposes the comitente to liability under the Ley Federal del Trabajo for all employment benefits and severance pay.

A Sales Commission Agent Contract Mexico is required whenever a Mexican or foreign company appoints an independent intermediary to sell its products or services within Mexican territory and compensates that intermediary through commissions rather than a fixed salary. The Código de Comercio Articles 273–308 govern this relationship and require that the scope of the commercial mandate, the commission rate, and the parties' obligations be clearly documented to avoid disputes over earned commissions and liability to third parties.

The contract is needed when a manufacturer, importer, or service provider — registered as a Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable (SA de CV), Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada (S de RL), or a persona física con actividad empresarial before the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) — wishes to expand its sales force without incurring the full costs of direct employment, including IMSS contributions under the Ley del Seguro Social, INFONAVIT payments under the Ley del INFONAVIT, aguinaldo under Article 87 LFT, and severance exposure under Articles 47–50 LFT.

The Contrato de Comisionista is needed when selling through intermediaries in specific geographic territories (estados, municipios, or zonas comerciales) where the company lacks its own sales infrastructure. Article 284 of the Código de Comercio allows the comisionista to act in either their own name or in the comitente's name — the choice has critical implications for who holds direct contractual rights and liabilities with end customers, and the contract must specify this clearly.

The agreement is required when a company appoints multiple regional commission agents and needs to define exclusive or non-exclusive territories to prevent channel conflicts under Article 287 of the Código de Comercio, which permits the comisionista to undertake commissions from multiple comitentes unless expressly prohibited by the agreement or where conflicts of interest arise. Where exclusivity is granted, the contract must define the consequences of breach and whether the comisionista earns commissions on sales made within the territory by other channels during the exclusivity period.

For fiscal compliance purposes under the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR) and the Ley del Impuesto al Valor Agregado (LIVA), the comisionista must issue electronic invoices (Comprobantes Fiscales Digitales por Internet — CFDI) for each commission earned, and the comitente must issue CFDIs for the products delivered to the comisionista or to end customers. The SAT requires documentation of the underlying commercial mandate to support the tax deductibility of commissions paid — a written Contrato de Comisionista fulfils this documentation requirement under Article 27 Section I of the LISR.

A valid Sales Commission Agent Contract Mexico under the Código de Comercio Articles 273–308 must address the following essential elements to be enforceable and to comply with Mexican commercial and fiscal law.

Identification of Parties: Full legal name, RFC (Registro Federal de Contribuyentes), domicilio fiscal, and registration details of both the comitente and comisionista. Where either party is a legal entity (persona moral), the Registro Público de Comercio inscription number, the name of the legal representative (representante legal), and the power of attorney (poder notarial) details must be included. The comisionista's legal capacity to act as a commercial intermediary in the relevant sector — including any regulatory licences (e.g., Cédula de Agente for insurance agents under the CNSF) — must be documented.

Scope of the Commercial Mandate: A precise description of the products or services that the comisionista is authorised to sell or promote, the geographic territory (territorio) within which the authority extends, and whether the comisionista acts in their own name (en nombre propio) or in the name of the comitente (en nombre del comitente) under Articles 284–285 Código de Comercio. Clear scope boundaries prevent the comisionista from exceeding their authority (extralimitación del mandato) under Article 283.

Commission Rate and Calculation: The percentage or fixed amount of commission (tasa de comisión) applicable to each sale, the base on which commission is calculated (net revenue, gross revenue, or invoice value excluding IVA), and the specific events that trigger the commission obligation — for example, order confirmation, customer payment, or product delivery. Article 304 Código de Comercio grants the right to commission upon completion of the mandated operation; the contract may provide for advance commissions subject to clawback upon customer non-payment.

Payment Terms and CFDI Requirements: The frequency and method of commission payment (mensual, bimestral), the deadline for payment after the triggering event, and the CFDI (Comprobante Fiscal Digital por Internet) issuance obligations of the comisionista under Articles 29 and 29-A of the Código Fiscal de la Federación (CFF) and the SAT's technical specifications (Anexo 20 de la Resolución Miscelánea Fiscal). The comitente's obligation to provide supporting sales reports (reportes de ventas) to enable commission calculations should also be specified.

Exclusivity and Non-Competition During the Agreement: Whether the comisionista is granted exclusive rights to the territory (exclusividad territorial) and whether the comisionista is prohibited from representing competing comitentes during the agreement term. Article 287 Código de Comercio permits dual representation unless restricted — any restriction must be express, time-limited, and geographically defined to be enforceable under Mexican commercial law.

Obligations of the Comisionista: The duty to follow instructions from the comitente under Article 279 Código de Comercio; the obligation to render accounts (rendición de cuentas) under Article 292; the duty to notify the comitente of circumstances that could affect the success of the commission under Article 281; the obligation to handle goods belonging to the comitente with care under Article 299; and compliance with the Ley Federal de Protección a la Propiedad Industrial (LFPPI) regarding trade secrets and confidential commercial information.

Obligations of the Comitente: The duty to provide the comisionista with all necessary information, samples, and materials; to pay commissions within the agreed period; to reimburse extraordinary expenses incurred by the comisionista in executing the mandate under Article 296 Código de Comercio; and to issue CFDIs for goods delivered to the comisionista or directly to customers.

Term and Termination: The initial term of the contract (definido or indefinido), notice requirements for termination, and the consequences of early termination including any obligation to pay commissions on pipeline orders generated before termination. Article 306 of the Código de Comercio establishes the comisionista's right to retain goods in their possession until commissions and reimbursable expenses are paid — the contract may waive this right or define alternative security mechanisms.

Dispute Resolution: Whether disputes are submitted to Mexican commercial courts (juzgados de distrito en materia mercantil) or to arbitration under the Código de Comercio Articles 1415–1463, the choice of arbitration institution (e.g., Centro de Arbitraje de México — CAM, or the ICC Mexico), the governing law (Código de Comercio and Código Civil Federal as supplementary), and the place (sede) of arbitration.

Forms-legal.com provides this Sales Commission Agent Contract Mexico template as a practical starting point for documenting the comisión mercantil relationship. Every commission agency agreement should be reviewed by a licensed licenciado en derecho specialising in derecho mercantil to confirm compliance with applicable regulations, sector-specific licensing requirements, and the specific commercial circumstances of the parties.